'Madness' in Texas as first two In-N-Out restaurants open

[caption id="attachment_95307" align="alignright" width="243" caption="Texas resident Carol Childress snaps a photo of people in line at an Allen, Tx. In-N-Out on Wednesday morning. She drove 45 miles to eat at this restaurant -- one of several planned to open this year in Texas."][/caption]

One Dallas food blog called the scene "madness" as hundreds of In-N-Out Burger fans became the first Texans to eat at two restaurants that opened today.Â Expansion to Texas is milestone for the legendary Irvine-based burger chain, famous for its sloppy anyway-you-want-it burgers.

â€śItâ€™s been a long time that weâ€™ve been talking about coming to Texas,â€ť In-N-Out owner Lynsi Martinez told Dallas-based D Magazine on Wednesday. â€śActually, being here today, and it being a reality â€” and us being this far from where we started â€” itâ€™s monumental.â€ť

Carol Childress, a Texas resident for 52 years, took her first messy bite of an In-N-Out burger in 1972 during a California business trip.Â She's been hooked ever since.

Childress drove about 45 miles Wednesday to the new In-N-Out in Allen, Tx.,Â where many locals had been camping since 4 p.m. Tuesday. The threat of rain didn't stop hundreds from waiting in lines that wrapped around the building.

She described the chaos of the morning to Nancy Luna via phone and email reports.

Arriving, ordering and mingling with fans

My cardiologist would not happy to know that I am here, but I sure am. I was in the parking lot at 8:30 a.m. finishing a conference call and I could see the line forming and it just continued to grow. People I talked to said they were here all night.Â (Note: In-N-Out officials told the media they were going to open at 10:30 a.m., but would likely open earlier if lines formed.)

I saw the line out the door moving, so I went in. My orderÂ -- a #3Â combo to go without onions, substitute

mustard for the sauce, regular Coke -- was placed at 9:47 a.m, and I picked it up 10 to 15 minutes later.

There was no break or lull in either the drive through or the walk in lines.Â It was just a steady stream of customers.Â The guy in front of me was a California native. He ordered four Double Doubles and three fries.

I asked him, "Are you meeting friends here?" He said, "No. I need an In-N-Out fix."

I saw several people with multiple orders of burgers. Lots of large size bags walking out the door.

Were the first visitors newbies or California transplants?

The crowds were very orderly, patient. There was an air of excitement, anticipation. Finally an In-N-Out in Texas.Â I saw lots of In-N-Out T-shirts -- ones that had been worn for long time. At least three distinct video crews who were filming.Â It seemed like every other person had a camera on their phone.

Everyone was taking pictures or calling friends to say,Â "Guess where I am," or "It' s open. I am waiting for my order."

Was In-N-Out prepared for the chaos?

A definite yes. Several things indicated they had planned well for the opening and the crowds. They had a refrigerated truck parked in the parking lot so there could be continual replenishment of supplies. They had good traffic flow.Â Squad cars, about three to four, helped traffic control.Â In-N-Out had as many as four employees in white uniforms taking orders in the drive-through. As soon as a car came off the street onto the property, there was someone to take the order.

What was it like once in the door?

Inside the place was really packed and it was hard to hear. The cashiers were really shouting when an order became ready. Just constant motion with people coming in and out all the time. While the lines were constant, they moved very quickly. I probably waited in line outside 15 or 20 minutes. The wait inside to place the order was maybe another 6 to 8 minutes.

They had lots of people behind the counter -- cooks, baggers, lots of constant activity back there. (Note: In-N-Out brings an "All Star" team of veteran employees to ensure operations run smoothly on opening day.)

Despite all the people, it was very orderly and the In-N-Out people gave no signs of panic or any evidence that they were getting overwhelmed. If they were surprised by the crowds, they didn't show it.

How was the burger?

I have eaten better burgers in terms of taste and size but none fresher. Â The combination of the freshness, the fries, the value and the friendliness of the staff all combine to make the In-N-Out experience memorable. Â I headed home, passing a Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box and Whataburger.

Those parking lots were almost totally empty -- granted, it was 10:30 in the morning. My initial thought was, "Wow. Talk about going head-to-head with your competition! In-N-Out will do just fine."

Tell us: Did you go to one of the restaurant today? If so, write in and let us know how it went?

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